A health minister and senior medics have told local authorities to take urgent
action to tackle “unacceptable” child death rates in Britain, which are
almost the worst in Europe.

Official figures show around 2,000 more deaths each year than would be expected, compared with European neighbours, with high rates of childhood disease like asthma and diabetes.

Experts say public health officials are not doing enough to ensure children have healthy lifestyles and to promote breastfeeding, which protects from a wide range of infections.

Doctors also fear that hospitals are failing children, because there are not enough specialist consultants to treat the critically ill, especially at weekends.

The damning letter signed by Dr Dan Poulter, a health minister, Dr Hilary Cass, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and four experts in child health, says bold action is required to tackle failings in many parts of the country.

It warns: “You will be as shocked as we are that childhood mortality in this country is among the worst in Europe. You will also want to know how poor many outcomes are for children and young people with long-term physical and mental conditions as well as those who are acutely sick.”

The letter, sent today to every council in the country, urges authorities to take action to “tackle the unacceptable variation in the quality of care for children and young people, and reduce health inequalities”.

Since April, councils have been responsible for public health, and efforts to promote healthy lifestyles. Today’s warning comes as figures are expected to show a fall in breastfeeding rates.

Ministers are concerned that in the past 15 years, death rates for children below the age of five have worsened significantly, so that Britain has “slid down the ladder” to become the second worst in Europe.

Dr Poulter, who also works as a hospital obstetrician, said the need for improvement has now become urgent.

A study published in The Lancet which compares mortality rates at 15 European countries, found that Britain has 1,951 “excess deaths” compared with Sweden, which has the lowest death rates.

The figure was the highest - more than twice that of France and Germany and three times that of Italy and Spain. When the relative sizes of populations was factored in, only Belgium had a higher rate of child mortality, the study found.

Experts say many such cases reflect poverty and unhealthy lifestyles. But others are linked to poor hospital care, with desperate shortages of specialists in paediatric units.

An audit of hospitals across the UK has revealed that just one in 10 children’s units have a senior consultant on duty in the evenings, although it is their busiest time.

Earlier this week, Dr Cass described the situation facing the NHS as a “major crisis”. She said hospitals which treat children need to be centralised, so there are fewer centres, which are larger so that there is access to specialists.

Dr Cass also said sick children were also at greater risk of dying because some GPs lacked the skills to diagnose diseases.

The letter, which is also signed by Duncan Selbie, the chief executive of Public Health England, and officials in charge of children and young people’s health to “demonstrate a commitment to giving children the best start in life” by making their health outcomes a priority in future strategy.

It says: “Bold and brave decisions will be needed if we are to give children, young people and families the services they deserve.”